Martin Aitken Financial Services Limited (MAFS), the wholly owned subsidiary of Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers Martin Aitken & Co Ltd., today announced the appointment of Scott Lawson as an Independent Financial Advisor to further strengthen its financial planning arm across Scotland.

Hundreds of people participated in the Big Smile Big Band event, which took place at the SECC Glasgow last Friday, including University of Glasgow Dental School and other University staff, Dental alumni, school children and teachers from the Glasgow area, and of course, Martin Aitken & Co.

Buying a pharmacy is exciting and potentially stressful. However, with careful planning, your advisers can lessen the negative impact of any aspect of the transaction.

In his regular column for Scottish Pharmacist, Mark Tenby outlines what you should consider before you make the decision to buy.

Scottish Rate of Income Tax (SRIT).

From 6 April 2017, there will be a change to the basic rate tax band for Scottish taxpayers. The Scottish rate of tax is 20% and is charged on income above £11,500, up to a Scottish basic rate limit of £43,000. >Find out more about the SRIT  >Scottish Budget 2016 key announcements

The Chancellor announced on 15 March that he would not be going ahead with his Budget proposal to increase the National Insurance Contribution rates for self-employed people.

A round-up of the key accounting, finance and tax matters facing charity trustees, finance directors and financial managers.

Click on the links below to read the full articles and briefing notes. We do hope you find the information and forewarnings contained within this edition to be useful.

Our business advisory team has been appointed to help Glasgow's SMEs scale up over the next three years as part of an innovative new scheme by Glasgow City Council (GCC).

If you are considering an investment in residential property this year, or if you already have residential property investments, you should consider the impact that the tax changes coming into play from April 2017 could have on your investment return.

There were no real tax surprises, nor any significant changes announced on the 15 December that were not already trailed before in earlier statements by Scottish Ministers.

The Chancellor presented his first, and last, Autumn Statement against a background of reduced growth forecasts and the urgent need to tackle the long-term weaknesses of the UK economy. His declared ambition is to make UK ‘match-fit’ for Brexit.

Finance and tax matters for company directors, business owner-managers and private individuals.

In this edition:

Following on from our Brexit briefing published in July 2016, regarding the suspension of some property funds, this communication is intended to update you on the most recent developments:

Are you taking advantage of capital allowances?

Quite simply, capital allowances can reduce your annual tax bill. They can be claimed for some types of capital expenditure, but generally speaking anything that is used for a business purpose that has a useful life of two or more years may qualify.